Family
by Darkmagiciangirl-508
Summary: Atem finally reunites with his family for the first time in five-thousand years.


Atem stared as the door closed behind him; his friends were slowly disappearing and slipping further and further away from him. He felt tears in his eyes; whether they were tears of sadness; to be leaving his friends, or tears of happiness; to be with his family again, he didn't know. But he knew that this goodbye wasn't forever; even if he didn't like to think about it much, one day, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa... All of them would meet their own fate and join the land of the dead. As horrible as it was to think of, it meant one day they would be together again. Finally, the door closed with a sense of finality. It was done; he was dead. But now that he thought about it, hadn't he always been dead? He was only a spirit, and his body had already died some time ago. Effectively, he wasn't alive to begin with. He felt a hand on his shoulder; he looked up and saw his mother and father standing there, smiling sadly.

"We're so proud of you sweetheart; you've been so brave," his mother said, her tears threatening to spill over too.

"I'm sorry... It was the only way to beat Zorc..."  
"Sorry? Son, it was the only thing you could do," Aknamkanon said incredulously. "All that matters now is that you're home and that we are finally all together again."

"But still... No parent should ever have to bury their child," Atem mumbled, looking at his mother.

"Atem," she said softly. "That may be true, but as your father said, there was no alternative. I would have much preferred this whole mess had never happened, but it's over now. You are our son and we love you, no matter what you do." Atem could no longer contain himself and wrapped his arms around both of his parents, who held him gently.

"Atem my boy, you were a good Pharaoh. You did whatever it took to defend Egypt," said Aknamkanon, holding Atem at arm's distance. "I am proud to be your father, and if I could have any wish, it would be that I would have taken action against the opposing armies, and the Millennium Items never would have been created."  
"Aknamkanon, do not blame yourself. You wanted peace, not war. It is not your fault," his wife said, a hand going to his arm. Aknamkanon smiled at her.  
"Thank you my love, but I still take full responsibility for this."  
"No father; it was not your fault at all. It was fate that caused those events," Atem said firmly. "The Gods chose for it to happen, so don't fault yourself." Aknamkanon looked down at his son in surprise, but smiled none the less.  
"Thank you, son. I am blessed to have such a loving family." He pulled both his son and wife close. "Ah brother, Aziza, hello. And hello to you also Seto." Atem looked up and saw his cousin, Seto, his uncle Ahknadin and a woman who could only be Seto's mother, Atem's aunt. He didn't mind Seto being there in the slightest, but was wary of his uncle. After all, he had been corrupted by Zorc after all, and had tried very hard to kill him.

"Atem," Ahknadin said. "I wish to apologise for my actions; Zorc saw my jealousy of my brother and took advantage of it. I hope you can forgive my weakness." Atem stared at his uncle for a minute, before suddenly his arms and legs moved by themselves, and he suddenly felt himself hugging his uncle. He might have been part of Zorc's plan, but he not been entirely at fault. Ahknadin hugged his nephew back, before releasing him. The look in his eyes said it all; just how grateful he was. Atem turned to his cousin and they smiled at one another; both were too proud to hug one another, but their feelings of friendship and even of brotherhood were mutual and eternal.

"We were watching the whole time; I've got to say that the present day me is a bit of an ass-hole," he joked. Atem chuckled.

"Perhaps, but that's his step-father's fault, not his own. Besides, beating him actually became fun after a while." They all laughed lightly. Atem smiled; he would miss his friends, yes. But they had each other, and he had his family. And that was good enough.

The End.

Yeah, I've read a couple of fanfics based on this topic, and whilst they were good, they didn't look at Atem's mother or the rest of his family. Only his father really (his father, his father, his father: it's all about his father isn't it?) and I wanted to explore Atem forgiving his uncle for his actions. And I can't be the only one to think that Atem and Yugi will never see each other again. Still, this isn't great, but it's fluffy. And who doesn't love fluff?

By the way, it seems Plot Bunny is taking up permanent residence in my room. He keeps hopping on my head, filling it with ideas and he won't go away. Next chapter of Third Year is in the works, as is the next chapter of Child of the Gods.


End file.
